Note to self. When in trouble, ask self WWTD—what would T. do?
Because T. had just walked in there and gotten her operative literally out of hot water. Heath had just sat there in quiet mockery, nodding now and then at T.’s questions, as she handed Helen the towel. T. had then moved to his side.
“I heard that Julie Cummings likes whips and chains,” T. had murmured.
That one sentence had succeeded in Heath taking his eyes off Helen and turning his head to stare up at T.
“Is that right?” he asked, in a rhetorical way.
“Whips, chains, and just enough pain,” T. had continued, leaning a bit closer. “I made a bet with Jed that you wouldn’t be able to handle her, that he’d have to take over and find out her husband’s location himself.”
“Is that so?” he’d asked softly.
T. had smiled bewitchingly. “Yes, that’s so.”
Helen had watched them as she secured her towel. T. was her mentor and obviously knew how to handle these commandos. Second note to self. Learn from the best.
Not long after, T. was helping her into the elevator to her quarters.
Third note to self. Never get into the spa tub naked at this hour of the night. Or day. What the hell time was it?
Helen gave a mental sigh of frustration. She was limping more now. She supposed she was in for a lecture from both T. and Dr. Kirkland.
T. glanced at her. “Overkill has always been my favorite nickname for you,” she remarked. “Or maybe it’s Hellbent.”
“Please, I really don’t want to have a tongue-lashing right now,” Hell said, as she gingerly stepped into the elevator.
She could feel T.’s probing gaze on her, taking in her condition, analyzing, making conclusions. She knew there was concern in there, too, but T. was, first and foremost, her chief. Their friendship was second.
“I should be saying, ‘What were you thinking?’ But I think that’s the problem here. You aren’t your usual self, not without sleep, not with you dealing with remote-viewing downtime as well as exhaustion.”
“And you’re going to ask next, ‘Why aren’t you in bed?’” Helen joked. Everyone was asking her that, so she might as well do it for them. “I’m trying to get there, T. I can’t sleep right now.”
“So you’d rather hang around and let each of them test you?”
“Why are they testing me?” Hell leaned against the elevator wall for support. She was feeling both hot and cold at the same time and had to work at concentrating on T.’s words instead of the sensations.
“Because they are predators, darling, and predators can smell a good hunt. They’re also all males and you were in their domain yesterday and left your mark everywhere. And, now, you’re at your most vulnerable, and each of them thinks he can get you before the other one does.”
Helen stared at T. for a moment. “You worked with them for two years. Pretty closely. Did they do that to you?”
T. shook her head. “I came in at their most vulnerable, after a few of their own were killed, and both our agencies were scrambling a bit. Different circumstances, Hell. I’m not one of them, but you’re going to be part of their team. I never used this serum. Some of them have and they know some things they can’t or won’t share with me. Obviously you’re having certain effects from it or you wouldn’t be stupid enough to be in the same room with Number Eight while he’s in interrogation mode.” The “pling” of the elevator announced their arrival at Helen’s floor. T. offered Helen her shoulder. “Need help?”
Helen noticed that T. didn’t attempt to touch her. She placed a hand on her chief’s shoulder for support. She suddenly realized that touching didn’t make her feel; it was being touched that was causing the problems. T. seemed to understand that.
“Thank you,” Helen said, and she didn’t mean just for the offer of support.
“You’re welcome.”
“That doesn’t mean I couldn’t have handled Heath,” Helen said as they walked slowly.
“Of course,” T. said with a small smile. “Now tell me why you think you can’t sleep when you look like you’re falling over from exhaustion.”
“Actually, I’ve only been feeling the exhaustion the last fifteen minutes. Before that, the pain and tiredness were barely there. I was hoping the swimming would accelerate it and maybe it did, but the other stuff hadn’t gone away.”
“What other stuff?”
Helen told her about the strange sensations, how she had been overwhelmed by them, and how she had to really focus on conversation or physical activity to take the edge off. T. listened silently, not asking questions, as she continued to try to explain what was happening, including what Armando had told her.
